Conventional sunscreen products contain ultraviolet-absorbing agents, ultraviolet-scattering agents, or both, so that they may achieve desirable levels and effects of protecting the skin from ultraviolet light. Ultraviolet-absorbing agents are usually organic compounds, such as ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate and octocrylene. On the other hand, ultraviolet-scattering agents include inorganic, powder components, such as titanium dioxide and zinc oxide.
There also exists a category of products called “non-chemical sunscreens.” These sunscreen products are intended to exert the effects of protecting the skin from ultraviolet light by containing inorganic, ultraviolet-scattering agents, but not organic, ultraviolet-absorbing agents. This is because these organic, ultraviolet-absorbing agents are apt to irritate or sensitize the skin of a user.
In order to achieve desirable levels and effects of ultraviolet protection or exhibit satisfactory values of Sun Protection Factor (“SPF”), these non-chemical sunscreen products must contain an increased amount of inorganic, powder components such as titanium dioxide and zinc oxide so that they can compensate for the absence of organic, ultraviolet-absorbing agents. When a sunscreen product contains these inorganic, powder components in an increased amount, however, the product appears excessively white to the eye. While a product appearing excessively white in its pre-application state may not be problematic, the sunscreen product will not be attractive to a user if such excessive whiteness remains and lingers on even after the product is applied to the skin. In fact, the issue of excessive whiteness arises whenever an elevated amount of titanium dioxide, zinc oxide, or both is used, regardless of the presence or absence of organic, ultraviolet-absorbing agents in the product. The issue of excessive whiteness is thus not limited to non-chemical sunscreens.
Further, while pigments may be added to a non-chemical sunscreen product to suppress or mask the appearance of excessive whiteness, pigments that impart natural-looking color to the product post-application (i.e., when it is spread out on the skin) tend to make the color of the product in its pre-application state (i.e., in bulk) unattractive to the user. For example, pigments that make the product look pale yellow with a tinge of pink upon application to the skin actually make the product itself appear brown. Although a user may not mind applying such a product to parts of the body that are usually hidden from view (such as one's buttocks), the user is not likely to feel encouraged or tempted to apply it on the face, even if the user is told that the product will appear pale yellow with a tinge of pink when spread out on the skin. In addition, due to the thick color, a user may feel as if she or he were putting makeup or foundation on rather than applying a sunscreen product.